Sessions
Week 1
Introductions
Why are only a small number of nonprofits growing at the rate of many more for-profits? What organizational capabilities and assets are critical for accelerating growth and impact? How will each Accelerator participant capture these capabilities and use them to accelerate mission progress?
Exercise: respond to organizational performance assessment questionnaire; review acceleration platform modules
Week 2
Goal Setting
What is a BHAG why does it matter to you and those you serve? How to align your staff, stakeholders and board around an aspirational goal. Overview of performance capabilities needed to achieve progress toward goals.
Exercise: participant goal setting that targets acquisition of key assets and capabilities
Week 3
Strategy
What is strategy, really, and what strategy will get you there? How are you communicating your strategy to align behaviors of your staff, board and volunteers? How are you evaluating and improving it?
Exercise: Goal & Strategy articulation
Week 4
Business Modeling and Planning
Review the components of an investment-grade business plan: problem, value-prop, team, aspirational goals, strategy, milestones, metrics, staffing and financial projections.
Exercise: 2-3 sentence answers to business planning template; financial planning template; dyad feedback.
Week 5
Execution
What is your information, role, and decision architecture? How do I select and refine my KPIs, leads and lags?
Exercise: KPI refinement, information/role/decision architecture targeting.
Week 6
Revenue Strategy
Revenue engine building and optimization: staffing, strategy, management and evaluation. Role of marketing and communications.
Exercise: How does our current staffing, strategy and execution compare to best practice?
Week 7
Revenue Execution
Getting your board on board, activating volunteers, and building a team. How to continually build your revenue & partnership pipeline.
Exercise: What’s your pitch? To what revenue segments will you deliver it? How will you know your revenue engine is working?
Week 8
Dashboarding
How to put the plan into action with scorecard fundamentals. Dashboard use with staff, leadership, board members, partners and investors.
Exercise: Dashboard prep worksheet
Mentor candidates introduced.
Week 9
Testing & Pitching
How to make your deck better, build trust, and start fundraising at the same time. Foundational components of establishing relationships.
Exercise: pitch deck refinement; testing process.
Week 10
Demo Day Prep
CEOs practice presenting their acceleration frameworks to sponsors, mentors and guests and discuss learnings & long-term goals.
Exercise: mentor assignment and reporting framework.
DEMO DAY
Demo Day
Final presentations. Mentor relationships launch. Review of ongoing cohort communication, support, and engagement.